JOB CREATED, INVESTMENT FLOWS AFTER RET DEAL

Media Release

Mark Butler MP.

Shadow Minister for Environment
 Climate Change and Water

Date: 26 June 2015

Labor welcomes today’s announcement by GE and Downer of the expansion of the Ararat Wind Farm following the passing of Renewable Energy Target legislation earlier this week. 

This expansion represents a $450 million investment in Australia’s renewable energy industry, creates up to 285 jobs and will inject $7 million into the local community of Ararat. 

The financiers and owners acknowledged the project would not have proceeded without the certainty provided by the agreement Labor struck with the Government on the Renewable Energy Target. 

Throughout the 18 months of the Government’s attacks on the renewable energy industry, Labor was guided by industry advice to return the policy to bipartisanship so that investors had the confidence to invest in Australian renewable projects. 

While Labor would have preferred Tony Abbott had kept his promise not to change the Renewable Energy Target, we are pleased investment has started to flow again and jobs are being created. 

Local Liberal MP Dan Tehan should be ashamed it took his Government so long to come to an agreeable position, effectively holding up the creation of nearly 300 jobs in his own electorate. 

The Greens should also explain to the families of those workers why they were willing to let their jobs hang in limbo by voting against the passage of the legislation. 

Labor’s ultimate goal throughout the entire Renewable Energy Target debacle, created by Tony Abbott’s broken promise, was to restore investor confidence in a critically important industry. 

Labor’s focus is on creating jobs of the future. Those jobs exist in the renewable energy industry and we’ll do all we can to establish the right policy framework to foster job creation and attract investment.